Burning Man officially got underway from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada on Sunday after a massive dust storm completely overtook the region. Pouring rain followed closely behind.
The start of the gathering has been hindered by crazy weather but spirits remain high!
Nothing will stop the 2025 edition of Burning Man from moving forward as scheduled. Even if it takes a few extra days to get settled on the front end.
What is Burning Man?
Burning Man does not call itself a festival. Rather, a ritual or just… an event.
Participants, called “Burners,” spend nine days in the middle of nowhere Nevada. The closest major city to the Black Rock Desert, Reno, is located approximately 160 miles to the south.
It is founded upon 10 core principals:
- Radical Inclusion
- Everyone is welcome.
- Gifting
- No money is exchanged.
- Decommodification
- There is no advertising, branding or commercial sponsorship.
- Radical Self-reliance
- Only you are responsible for yourself.
- Radical Self-expression
- Be who you are and do so freely.
- Communal Effort
- Collaboration is crucial.
- Civic Responsibility
- Respect the community.
- Leave No Trace
- Clean up after yourself completely.
- Participation
- Spectators are not allowed.
- Immediacy
- Live in the now.
Burners build a massive temporary city in the middle of the desert to create art, perform things like fire dancing or improv theater, and offer various workshops. There are some musical acts. They mostly just hang out as a community. Burning Man ends with a burning of a large wooden effigy.
Rain, rain, go away.
Because Burning Man takes place in a literal desert, there is no way to predict the weather.
Temperatures typically hover between 90º and 100º, dropping down as low as 40º or colder at night. The sun is intense and constant— until it isn’t.
It is not a good sign if the sun is to disappear during the day. That could mean one of two things: a dust storm or a rain storm.
Both of those things already happened in 2025.
A violent dust storm completely destroyed everything just 24 hours before Burners were set to arrive and required a total rebuild of the structures already in place. According to boots on the ground, it was the nastiest dust storm in Burning Man history.
And then it started to rain. A lot.
Campsites flooded overnight.
They’re calling it ‘Mud Man’ instead of Burning Man.
All of the dirt that created the dust storm turned to pure cake.
Fortunately, this is not the first time it has rained at Burning Man. The Burners know what they are doing.
And, because it is the desert, the hot sun beating down helps to dry things up pretty quickly. It should be back to normal within 24 to 36 hours.
It also seems to be the last of the rain for the week if the weather forecast stands. Burn on!